Scaleup programmes
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BizSmart
Leadership Capacity
Impact for scaleups
173
Scaling businesses supported in 2023
37,000
Downloads of the ScaleUp Radio podcast
29%
Average increase in turnover 12 months after programme
72%
Have accessed new markets
28%
Have won new procurement contracts
22%
Have gained new ESG complaint accreditations
Key sectors
BizSmart gives scaling business owners the tools they need to navigate their growth journey, increasing profits and value while also making their businesses easier to manage. Its structured Scaleup system – Flight Academy – is tailored to business needs, focusing on the major challenges to scaling identified by the ScaleUp Institute.
SmartBoards is its flagship service providing peer to peer communities involving groups of six participants from diverse backgrounds and non-competing sectors. It begins with four themed sessions that cover leadership and vision along with the principles of building for value, creating a laser focus through Smart90, 90-day planning cycles, to champion execution through a robust and consistent business ‘rhythm’.
The 90-Day planning approach is a recurring thread through the monthly themed SmartBoard sessions in which a theme is introduced based on a module from the core ScaleUp Pillars. Members identify a challenge for the board and then each has a spotlight session from which they commit to actions. Once each quarter members share their 90-day plans with the group. Ahead of this, business leaders can attend separate planning workshops with their senior leadership teams supported by a software package that captures the plans, aligns team members to tasks and allows business owners to track progress. Learning is supplemented through an online platform offering over 30 modules and 80 supporting video tutorials.
In the past year, Bizsmart has supported 173 scaling business leaders, increasing their confidence, leadership capacity and ambition and has repositioned its monthly online ScaleUp Club to be by invitation only, creating a supportive forum for scaleup founders to meet, share, collaborate and learn with their peers. Participants report better connections with other businesses and peer networks, increased confidence, leadership capacity and ambition.
Bizsmart is primarily supporting businesses based in Worcestershire but has recently developed a franchise model with expansion into Gloucestershire. Additionally Bizsmart is currently working with local accountants with the goal of offering its 90-day planning approach and Smart90 software to their client networks. This will increase the reach of the Bizsmart programmes and further develop accountants’ business advisory capacity. Its ScaleUp Radio podcast has now achieved 37,000 downloads and has featured interviews with 116 scaleup founders since December 2022.
